By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — Both the St. Bonaventure and La Salle women’s basketball teams enter their matchup with a string of losses in tow.
But, after a more-than-solid outing in their last fixture, the Bonnies will look to ride the momentum and get back to winning ways when they welcome the Explorers into the Reilly Center on Jan. 29.
Bona’s most recent slate of games was in no way its easiest of the season with each of it’s last four opponents currently occupying spots in the top six in the Atlantic 10. And in it’s first three games over that stretch, the losses were by substantial margins. But it was what coach Jim Crowley saw from his players in their most recent game against Fordham that has him feeling confident in the way they are developing and putting the pieces together.
“I just thought we really stayed locked into the moment,” Crowley said. “We weren’t dwelling on what happened before, we weren’t dwelling on the fact that we were on the road, the first week of classes, we weren’t dwelling on other games, we just attacked that moment, which is something we’ve really talked to them a lot about and we’ve put some ownership on them as to how to start the game and they handled that well. They handled a lot of runs by Fordham, stayed in it and we had the ball at the end which is what you can ask for against a good conference opponent on the road. Now, it’s ‘do it again,’ it’s making sure we stay locked in and understand what the effort looks like and being willing to do it again.”
After consecutive losses by 38, 38 and 27 points, Fordham just managed to escape with a two-point 51-49 win thanks to clutch buckets down the stretch and a bit of luck as Caitlin Frost’s game-winning attempt didn’t fall.
Zoe Shaw was brilliant for Bona against Fordham, recording her 11th straight game with double figures in the points column, setting a new career-high of 22 points and earning A10 Rookie of the Week honors for the second time this season. Her continued development has been a major bright spot within this year’s team, but she was not without help against the Rams.
Frost and Hannah Robinson, who scored 13 and seven points respectively against Fordham, and Dani Haskell have each made themselves focal points for opposition defenses. According to Crowley, this is what has allowed Shaw to continue to see success shooting the ball. Also, while he understands running the offense can be a daunting task for a freshman, he has confidence in her ability to get the job done.
“We’re asking her a lot, … teams are pressuring her, teams are really coming at her in different ways and she just keeps rising to the occasion which has been really good to see,” Crowley said. “On Saturday, she got some scoring help from Caitlin and Hannah, which I think opened up some driving lanes and obviously teams have to worry about Dani’s shooting ability, so that opens up some driving lanes. We’re just moving the ball better, which is creating more space for her as well.”
“She’s logged a lot of minutes, which is a credit to her conditioning, but also, that’s a lot of experience she’s getting pretty quickly against a lot of different defenses. It’s gone from her being down lower on the scouting report to being at the top and she’s handling that pretty well.”
But now, the Rams, and the good performance the Bonnies had against them, is in the past. There’s a new challenger in their path. One in which can be effective if allowed.
La Salle boasts a play style not entirely similar to the ones Bona has seen as of late. Where recent teams have looked to get out and run in transition, Crowley explained that the Explorers are much more methodical in their approach and will take their time on the offensive end.
Leading them on the scoring front is the backcourt duo of Ashleigh Connor and Joan Quinn, who average 11.9 and 9.2 points per game apiece. But, as of late, the latter of the two has been the more consistent and enters the game against the Bonnies on the back of a 23-point outing against Saint Joseph’s.
“They’re really patient,” Crowley said. “La Salle is going to pick their spots and they’re going to put them in isolation plays. It’s not as much attacking out of actions as it is creating space for them and then making you have to figure out how you’re going to guard them. We can’t just leave Zoe or Dani, or whoever is guarding them on an island, and as much as possible (we have to) try to get the ball out of their hands and make some other people have to make some one-on-one plays.”
But while the La Salle guards may pose the biggest threat on paper, Crowley has not glossed over the importance of preventing forwards Mackenzie Daleba and Anna Przyszlak from being effective in scoring or rebounding — yet another big test for Bona’s forwards.
“Every A10 game is going to be a test for those guys,” Crowley said. “They’re almost playing up a little bit. And again, they’re getting that experience. Daleba is a transfer from Fairfield, got some great minutes there. She’s a physical presence and a great rebounder. We got to keep them off the boards. I think a really important thing tomorrow is how well we rebound, and even maybe more than that, how much we limit their scoring from their offensive rebounds. I thought we did that really well against Fordham … it’s got to be a similar case against La Salle. We can’t give away a lot of points from offensive rebounds.”
The Bonnies and Explorers currently reside in the bottom two spots in the A10 table, both with 1-8 records. But Crowley is urging his players to disregard the records and continue to play their game, just like they did against Fordham. Because, not only would the win be big in terms of the standings, but also due to the fact that the team has the chance to turn around their fortunes in front of a home crowd.
“It’s important, regardless of the opponent or the record,” Crowley said. “The last time we were at home, we didn’t play very well at all, and that’s not how we want to ever play, and certainly not how we want to play in front of our home fans. So, I think we’ve got some things to focus on with that too, just continuing our ability to execute a game plan and play at the pace we need to for four quarters and try to make that the norm here as we get into the second half conference play.”
St. Bonaventure will look to make a statement in the RC against La Salle on Jan. 29. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
